Strawberry
by NekoRyu-chan
Summary: Abel and Tres are sent on assignment when an unexpected snow storm catches them off guard. What happens when Abel falls ill and Tres is the only one to care for him? A AbelxTres fic. MAIN STORY FINISHED! Bonus chapter coming soon!
1. Starting Out

Strawberry

Trinity Blood

"Tres-kun, don't you find it a bit chilly out?"

Abel Nightroad pulled his uniform closer to him and shivered. It was just coming into fall and an unexpected snow storm came by and colored the whole country white. It was beautiful, but it was also unbearably cold. And the wind chill wasn't making it easier. A sharp wind blew by, making Abel shiver more. His silver hair blew in the wind and some strands blew in his face, slightly annoying him. He blew them away then looked to the figure walking along side him.

Tres Iqus didn't respond to Abel's question; he just stared straight ahead. The cold didn't seem to bother him in the least. _I guess being an android has its perks..._ thought Abel, pouting slightly. When the wind blew, Tres didn't even flinch. His chocolate-brown hair wafted around slightly. Abel sighed in defeat and averted his eyes on the sidewalk ahead.

They were sent up here on a mission about rouge vampires making sacrifices; kidnaping Terrans, both young and old, and draining them off all of their blood. The info that the two AX members got was that some of them were stationed here. The trip up here was paid for...however, thanks to Abel's carelessness, most of their money was spent on food and sweets. He even borrowed some of Tres's money to buy some food and drink. Now, they were left with little money...and no place to stay the night.

"We've been walking for hours now and still not a place to stay..." muttered Abel, frowning slightly. So far, all the motels and hotels they have asked, all of their prices were way too high and they wouldn't lower them, even after Abel's pitiful pleas. Some of the owners even told them to give up and sleep on the street, with what little money they had. _How rude..._ thought Abel, bitterly.

"ACHOOO!!"

Suddenly, Abel sneezed loudly, making him stop. Tres stopped as well, looking at him.

"Father Nightroad. Status report." he said, monotonously.

"Hm?" sniffed Abel, "Ah, it was nothing, Tres-kun. Probably someone talking about me. Nothing to worry about!"

Tres nodded and continued walking. Abel sniffed again and followed him. He pulled his uniform closer to him, as another strong wind blew. Neither him or Tres were dressed for the weather, still wearing the usual AX uniform. The snow storm happened so suddenly, they didn't have the time to prepare. _Can androids even get sick? _thought Abel, his head a bit fuzzy, _They basically look like normal humans, but on the inside, they're all machines. Not to mention the Auto Repair system they have. That sure comes in handy. But can they get a virus like a computer can? If they catch a virus, would that count as being sick? I won—_

SMACK

Lost in thought and not paying attention to where he was going, Abel ran face-first into a metal lamp post. He yelped, stumbled back, slipped on a patch of ice, and fell right on his back. His head hit the sidewalk hard and for a minute, he thought he might loose consciousness. But he didn't. Abel blinked, trying to get his vision to see straight. His face was hurting from where he ran into the pole and he even thought he broke his nose.

"Father Nightroad. Status report."

Abel blinked and looked up at the android. Tres was standing right above him, looking down at him.

"Oh, I-I'm fine. I was just lost in thought." said Abel, sitting up. He rubbed the back of his sore head, thinking for a minute that it was bleeding. But when he took his hand away, there was no blood.

"You're bleeding." stated Tres.

"Eh?"

Abel looked himself over and didn't notice any blood. He blinked, trying to figure out what Tres meant, when he felt something wet and cold drip onto his lip. He wiped it away, only to find a bright red streak on his glove. He put the glove up to his nose again and pulled his hand away. This time, Abel's whole glove was bloody. Running into the pole caused him to get a bloody nose.

"Ahh, I must've ran into that pole pretty hard." chuckled Abel, pinching his nose and tilting his head back, "It'll stop soon, so don't worry, Tres-kun."

As soon Abel put his head back, a hand pushed his head forward, so that he was staring straight ahead. Blinking, Abel looked around and was surprised to find that the hand belonged to Tres.

"If you tilt your head back when you have a nosebleed, then the blood will go down your throat." said Tres.

"Oh. Forgot about that." said Abel, a bit nasally since he was still pinching his nose, "Thanks, Tres-kun."

"Oi! You two!"

Both AX members turned their heads towards the voice. A middle aged man was standing outside of a building, his hands on his hips. He looked slightly annoyed.

"Ah, yes?" asked Abel.

"If you two dun get inside quickly, you'll freeze ta death!" stated the man. His accent was a bit weird, "Get in here, ya fools!"

Abel got up carefully and made sure that he didn't step in the ice again. He went to grab his bags, but found that they were gone. He looked around and saw that Tres had grabbed them and was already going inside.

"Oi, Whitey!" snapped the man, getting Abel's attention, "Ya got blood comin' outta yer nose like a faucet! C'mon inside and plug it up!"

Abel nodded and trotted in after Tres into the building.


	2. Operational or No?

**Thank you for the nice reviews, guys! hugs all that reviewed and gives them candy Please keep reviewing, so I will have more motivation to continue this fic! Well, here's Ch.2! Enjoy!

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The building inside looked pretty shabby. The wallpaper was peeling off of the walls and it smelled really moldy inside. They then found out that the old man was the owner of the building, which happened to be an old hotel.

"Oh, so yer lookin' for a place to stay, eh?" he asked, "Oh, by the way, call me Alfred."

"Yes, we are." said Abel. When he had walked in, Alfred pushed a box of tissues his way and told him to "clog up his nose." Which he did and, so far, he went through 6 tissues, "We don't have much money, so we've been looking around for a cheap place to stay."

"Well, yer outta luck 'round these parts." said Alfred, lighting up a cigarette, "The prices 'round here are pretty high. Good luck finding a place where ya won't spend all yer money."

"Ahh, more bad luck." sighed Abel. He really didn't want to go back out into the cold. But it seemed inevitable.

"Hmm..." Alfred looked from Tres to Abel, then again, before his eyes landed on Abel again, "Well, it's supposed to get a lot colder tonight and I would feel really bad if I let you two sleep outside ta freeze ta death. Ya beat me; ya'll can stay for free."

"Really!" asked Abel, his eyes lighting up, "Th-Thank you very much!"

"Eh, no prob." shrugged Alfred, "So, two rooms or one? Yer choice."

"We'll have one room each." said Abel. Alfred nodded and got behind the desk and wrote something down on a piece of paper. He then turned around and got two keys and handed them to Abel.

"Here ya go! Enjoy yer stay. Dinner will be served soon, so if ya want some grub, come down in...eh, 10 minutes." said Alfred, walking into the back room.

"Okay, then! Let's go to our rooms, Tres-kun!" said Abel, handing one of the keys to Tres. Abel offered to carry up his own suitcase, but Tres wouldn't hand it back. They walked up the stairs onto the 3rd floor and found their rooms, right next to each other. Abel went into his room first, unlocking the door and going in.

The room was just as shabby as the lobby downstairs. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls and the floors creaked in spots. The only window was open and from there, one could see the street down below, covered in white snow. A cold wind blew in from the window and Abel went over and shut it, shivering. To his left, there was a simple bathroom, with a shower, bathtub, and toilet.

"Not first class, but it will suffice." said Abel, "You know, Tres-kun, you didn't have to carry my stuff all the way up here..."

Tres said nothing, but did set Abel's suitcase down beside the door. He then exited and went to the room next door.

"Ah! Ah! Wait up, Tres-kun!" yelped Abel, running out after him, "I want to see your room, too!"

Tres didn't see why Abel wanted to see his room, since it was the exact same thing. Except there was no bathroom. Abel frowned at the room, as Tres went farther in and set his stuff next to the bed.

"This isn't good." said Abel, looking around, "My room is a lot better. Why don't you take my room instead, Tres-kun?"

"Negative. The quality and condition of the room do not matter." said Tres.

"But it wouldn't be fair if I got the better room!" said Abel, crossing his arms over his chest, "Take my room. I insist."

"Negative." said Tres, again. He then looked up at Abel and tilted his head a little, "Status report."

"Eh?" blinked Abel, "I'm fine. My nose is better, as it's not bleeding anymore. Though I am a bit tired from walking around all day. By the way...do you happen to know what time it is, Tres-kun?"

"It is currently 6:10pm." stated Tres.

"Wow, it's getting late." sighed Abel, "Perhaps I'll skip dinner and go straight to bed. Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Well, I'm going to hit the hay, Tres-kun! 'Night, 'night!"

And with that, Abel left Tres's room and went into his own room, closing the door with a click. Tres sat on the bed for awhile, thinking things over. Father Nightroad wasn't acting like himself. That was obvious when he said that he would skip dinner for sleep. Tres knew by experience that Abel wouldn't turn down free food for anything. And the unusual flush on the Kresnik's cheeks concerned the android more. If Abel wasn't operational then they wouldn't be able to complete their mission. Tres then got up and walked out of his room. He stopped in front of Abel's room and raised his hand to knock. He almost started to knock, but hesitated. If, in fact, Father Nightroad was not working properly, then he would need to rest.

Tres lowered his hand and went downstair to get some food for Abel, if he ever woke up and was hungry.


	3. And Then There Were Two

**Everyone is giving me such positive reviews!! Thank you so much! I shall give you all candy again! Now, here's Ch.3! It's really hard to portray Tres's personality, but I did the best I could. So, read on!**

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The next morning, Tres knew something was definitely wrong with Abel. It was already 9 in the morning and still no movement from his room. Tres did bring up some supper for him, but he never once woke up. Even during the night, he didn't get up. Usually, if Father Nightroad was hungry in the middle of the night, he would get up and have a midnight snack, complaining that his growling stomach kept him up.

Knowing that Alfred might have some medicine to cure Abel's illness, Tres walked downstairs, but not before stopping by the Kresnik's door and listening for any movements.

"Alfred-san." said Tres, walking down the stairs to the lobby, "There is something I need to ask of you."

No response.

Tres walked into the lobby and looked around. Alfred was nowhere in sight. He looked in the rooms in the lobby and found no one. After looking around for 5 more minutes, Tres came up with a conclusion.

The only ones in the hotel now where Tres and Abel.

The only option now was to go outside and go to a nearby pharmacy and get some medicine. Tres walked over to the doors and tried to push them open. They wouldn't budge. Tres blinked slowly and tried again. And, again, they didn't move. Going over to the window, he looked out to see what was obstructing the door.

Snow.

At least 3ft of snow was piled against the door, making it unable to open. Snow covered the streets and completely covered the roads and sidewalks. Tres also tried to open the windows, but they were iced shut. The only way to get out of the building now was to either 1.) Break down the door or 2.) Shatter the window. Neither were deemed appropriate, so Tres turned back to the stairs.

THUD

Tres glanced up at where the noise came from. It came from upstairs near the 3rd floor. From somewhere around Father Nightroad's room. Thinking it was an attack, Tres dashed up the stairs and stopped in front of Abel's room.

"Status report, Father Nightroad." said Tres.

No reponse.

"Father Nightroad."

Nothing.

"Respond, Father Nightroad."

Nada.

"Father Ni—"

Finally, Tres heard a response. It wasn't really a word response, as it was in the form of a moan. Tres opened the door and looked inside...

To find Abel lying on the floor, on his back, with a dazed, stupid look on his face.

"Ahhh, Tres-kuuuun!" smiled Abel, "Caterina-san hit me pretty hard..."

Tres blinked and slowly looked around. He knew that it was impossible for Cardinal Caterina to be right here, as she was still in Rome.

"Negative, Father Nightroad. Lady Caterina is in Rome at the moment and couldn't have possible traveled here." said Tres.

"Oh, Tres-kun! I seem to have horrible balance this morning and I fell down. And I can't seem to get up..." whimpered Abel, raising his arms and waving them. Tres walked over to the Kresnik and bent down to pick him up in his arms. Abel found himself blushing when Tres was carrying him bridal style. And so easily, too!

Tres hid his surprise when he picked up Abel. Through his nightgown, the android could feel Father Nightroad's intense body heat. This wasn't the usual temperature that his body should be at. Gently, he carried Abel to his bed and laid him down in it. When Tres looked at his face, it was bright red; a huge contrast from his usual pale skin.

"Ah, th...thank you, Tres-kun." said Abel, wondering why Tres was staring at him. Then, Tres set his hand on top of Abel's forehead. He unconsciously shivered, as Gunslinger's hand was so cold against his clammy skin. He then realized that Tres had removed his glove and had his bare hand against Abel's forehead.

"You have a temperature of 101.1 degrees, Father Nightroad." stated Tres, removing his hand, "You are to rest until your temperature returns to normal."

"But I'm fine, Tres-kun!" said Abel, smiling, "I swear there's nothing wrong with me!"

"You have a fever, Father Nightroad." said Tres, "You are not operating correctly."

"How rude!" pouted Abel, "I am "operating" just fine! Really, Tres-kun, you worry to much!"

"Rest until you become operational again." said Tres, finalizing the situation.

"Okay, okay." sighed Abel, defeated, "You win, Tres-kun. I'll do as you say."

Tres nodded and Abel sighed again. He crossed his arms across his chest and glanced towards the door, pouting. He looked like a rebellious child. Tres blinked, as something came to mind.

Abel blinked, as he felt the bed covers move. He was more than surprised to see that it was Tres who was moving them. And was even more shocked to find that Tres was pulling the covers over him. Abel felt his face get red again, as Tres brought the covers up to his chin.

"Eh?" squeaked Abel, sitting up, "Ah, Tres-kun, you didn't have..."

He didn't finish, as Tres put his hand on Abel's forehead again and pushed slightly, making him lay down on the pillows. Abel was about to protest, but something about Tres's skin touching his own, was soothing in its own way. Voice lost, Abel felt his eyelids get heavy, as Tres's soft skin made him feel sleepy.

"Rest, Father Nightroad." said Tres, almost softly. He removed his hand slowly, watching the Kresnik drift slowly to sleep.

"Tres-kun...you...you're...I..." muttered Abel, as he tried to fight off the sleepiness. But he was fighting a losing battle. Tres turned to leave and stopped in the doorway, as Abel was muttering something again.

"T...Tres-kun...lo...I..."

Hearing his name, Tres turned around and adjusted his hearing so he could hear what the feverish Abel had to say.

"Tres-kun, I love you."

For once, Tres's mind was blank. Usually, he would say that he couldn't comply...but something about how Father Nightroad said those words made him confused. An unidentifiable emotion bubbled up in his chest, making him even more confused on how to respond. But before he could even come up with a response, he noted that Abel was already in deep sleep.

Mind still muddled, Tres walked out of the room to search for medicine somewhere in the hotel. The door closed with a small click.


	4. Unidentifiable Emotion?

**Thank you, again, for all of your reviews! _Gives out candy again. _This chapter was reeeeeally hard to write. I tried by best, so I hope it isn't too confusing. It might take me a little while to get the next chapter up, 'cause I have a great idea for it, but I don't know how to put it into words. Actually, one thing that gives me inspiration is yaoi/shonen-ai pics of this couple. If anyone has a good site, please give it to me. Thank you! And enjoy this chapter!!

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_I love you..._**

_I love you..._

_I love you..._

Those three words kept echoing in Tres's head, as he searched around on the 2nd floor. Those three words had some meaning to them, but as of what meaning they were...Tres had no idea.

"...Maybe I am the one that isn't operating correctly." said Tres. Then, another weird emotion sprang up inside of him that he didn't recognize. He felt that what he said wasn't the truth. That he was lying to himself. Shaking off the feeling irritably, he continued downstairs to search for medicine.

"Still...what is this feeling? I could not answer Father Nightroad back." said Tres, to himself, "These emotions...they are unfamiliar. Emotions...human...emotion..."

Tres stopped walking and stood in the lobby. Human emotions...he didn't understand them, but yet, on some rare occasions (like now) he felt them. He was an android built as the ultimate killing machine, made to follow any order given. He wasn't socially adept, so he rarely got to analyze emotions and store them in his memory. Still...he wanted to learn. He wanted to learn how to deal with the new emotions and how to portray them properly.

"Father Nightroad..." muttered Tres. Another emotion bubbled up inside him and he turned around and went up the stairs. He went to the third floor and stopped in front of Abel's room.

_What am I doing? _thought Tres, _Father Nightroad needs to rest so he can recover. Yet...this feeling...I have to see him. _With that in mind, Tres opened the door slowly and peeked in.

Abel was still asleep, lying on his back, sprawled out. He had kicked some of the covers off of him and one leg was hanging off of the bed. He was snoring slightly and a little bit of drool was dripping out of the corner of his mouth. A warm feeling engulfed Tres and he felt himself smile a little.

"_Tres-kun, I love you..."_

"Father Nightroad was feverish when he had said that, so it could've just been out of delirium." said Tres, quietly, as to not wake up the sleeping Kresnik, "However...if it was, why are those words having such a big effect on me...?"

Tres stood in the doorway for a little bit before going over to Abel. He looked down at him and analyzed the situation. When he was done, he crouched down and pushed Abel's leg back onto the bed. Then, gently as to not wake him, Tres moved Abel a little, so he could get back under the covers. While holding him close, Tres noted that Abel's temperature was slightly better than the last time he checked. He then carefully set Abel back down on the bed and tucked him in. Tres looked at him, his eyes soft. Then, he turned around and headed for the door again, to complete his mission of finding medicine.

"Mmm..."

Tres stopped dead in his tracks, as he heard Father Nightroad stir. Slowly, he turned around and saw the Kresnik's bright blue eyes staring into his brown ones.

"Ah...Tres-kun..." muttered Abel, smiling a little. His eyes weren't focused at all, which led Tres to the idea that he was half-asleep, "Something wrong...?"

"Negative." stated Tres, "It is nothing. Get some rest so you can become operational again."

"'Kay, 'kay..." said Abel, dreamily. He closed his eyes and drifted back off to sleep.

Tres stared at him for a minute, before leaving Abel's room and closing his door.

"I shall analyze this emotion more later..." said Tres. He walked back downstairs and continued searching for medicine.


	5. Sweetness

**Uwah! This chapter was hard to write. I did my best, so please don't be harsh on me. Oh, and more candy to those who reviewed. And--I have NO idea if Tres can eat or not, but I made it so he can. The sucker thing will come up later in the story. And my boyfriend gave me the idea of Tres analyzing the sucker. That's why I kept the bag that I got suckers in and listed the ingredients. And he also gave me the idea of Abel humming the "Lollipop Kids." Well, enjoy Ch. 5!! Read on!

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After about 20 minutes of looking around downstairs, Tres came up with nothing. No medicine to help Abel recover. Though he did find some medicine to help hangovers and constipation, he didn't find anything for fevers.

"There seems to be no medicine in this building." said Tres, setting down a bottle of Vicodin, "I need to get outside, somehow."

Tres walked away from the counter and headed for the stairs to head up to Father Nightroad's room...when something caught his eye. He turned back around and looked behind the counter. A white plastic bag was in one of the cubby holes, already open. Curious, Tres took the bag and set it on the counter to see what it was.

The label on the bag said "Charm's Blow Pop." The bag had 38 suckers in it, but now there were only 12. Tres took one out and looked at it.

"Strawberry flavor." stated Tres, looking at the wrapper. He looked at the other suckers and they were all strawberry flavored. No watermelon, cherry, grape, or apple flavors. Just strawberry.

Tres recalled Abel liking these, but never having enough money to buy a bag. He said that it was always so sweet and never wanted the flavor to end. He also said that the gum in the center of the sucker was good, too. Carefully, Tres unwrapped the wrapper on the sucker and examined the red candy on the tip of the stick. Studying it carefully, he could see the gum in the center.

"Sweet..." muttered Tres. He looked at the sucker for a minute longer, before popping it into his mouth. The sweet taste of strawberry filled his mouth and he stood there and savored it for a minute, before analyzing it.

"Sugar, corn syrup, gum base, starch, citric acid, glycerin, artificial flavors, artificial colors including FD & C red 40, FD & C blue 1, turmeric coloring, and BHT added as preservative." listed Tres, moving the sucker around in his mouth. He then took the bag and walked towards the stairs. While walking up the stairs, he bit down on the sucker and heard it crack and break. He sucked on it for awhile then bit down on it hard. He felt the candy pieces break in his mouth and he tasted the gum on his tongue. He chewed on the pieces until they were small enough to swallow. He then swallowed and began chewing on the gum. He bit it off the stick and found a trash can in the nearest bathroom and threw it away.

"Father Nightroad should be awake by now." said Tres, making his way up the stairs to the 3rd floor. Then, he stopped half-way up the stairs, as another thing popped into his head. When Father Nightroad had one of these suckers, he would always blow a bubble with the gum...which popped and got gum all over his face. He wasn't too happy after that.

Curiously, Tres prepared a bubble. When he felt that it was right, he blew and watched the bubble form. It got to about 1 inch in diameter before it popped. And gum covered his lips and some of his chin. While walking up the stairs and picking off the gum, Tres then knew why Abel didn't like it when gum got everywhere. It was a pain to clean up.

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When Tres made it up to Abel's room, he opened the door slowly just in case the Kresnik was still asleep.

Which he wasn't. Abel was sitting up in bed, humming "The Lollipop Kids" and looking out the window, quite content. When Tres opened the door, though, he averted his attention from the window to the android.

"Tres-kun! There you are!" chirped Abel, smiling, "I was wondering where you were!"

"Status report, Father Nightroad." asked Tres, standing by the bed.

"Eh? I'm fine, Tres-kun! I've been telling you that!" said Abel, "It's just a small fever. Which is getting better, for your information."

Tres blinked and walked over to Abel. He took his hand and pressed it up against the Kresnik's forehead, causing him to shiver again, because of the differences in temperature.

"100.5 degrees." said Tres, removing his hand, "Your temperature is still high, Father Nightroad."

"Not as high as it was!" pointed out Abel, wagging a finger at Tres, "Trust me. With some rest and a little medicine, I'll be fine, Tres-kun!"

"I have searched the premises and could not find anything to lower or help your fever." said Tres.

"Oh." blinked Abel, surprised, "Well then, ask Alfred-san if he has anything. I bet he does."

"Negative. Alfred-san is not in the building. He seemed to have left last night, along with everyone else in the hotel. We are the only two here." said Tres.

"Really?"

"Positive." nodded Tres, "I had tried to exit through the door, however there was a sudden blizzard last night and approximately 3 feet of snow is blocking the door. I tried the windows, but they are frozen shut."

"...So...you're saying...that we're stuck?" asked Abel, nervously.

"Positive."

"NOOOO!! WE'RE GONNA DIE!!!"

Tres merely blinked at Abel's outburst. "Negative, Father Nightro—"

"Uwah!! This is horrible!! We're gonna die!! We're gonna die!!" shrieked Abel, waving his arms frantically.

"Negat—"

"We'll starve to death! We'll freeze to death!!"

"Father Nigh—"

"What will we do, Tres-kun?! O Lord, why this?! Why must I die like this?!"

Tres reached into his pocket, got out one of the suckers that were still in the bag that he took from downstairs, and unwrapped it. While Abel was still panicking, Tres took his hand and gently grasped the other's jaw.

"Wha—"

Before the Kresnik had time to respond, Tres took the sucker that he had unwrapped and popped it into Abel's mouth. Abel blinked, perplexed, but he didn't speak a word. Instead, he moved the sucker around in his mouth, so the stick went up and down. Satisfied, Tres let go of Abel's jaw.

"You should calm down, before your fever gets worse, Father Nightroad." said Tres, monotonously. Abel just nodded, content with the sucker in his mouth, "I shall take leave and see if a nearby pharmacy has something to aid you in your recovery."

"Eh?" asked Abel, taking the sucker out of his mouth to talk, "How are you going to do that?"

Tres didn't say anything, but headed for the only window in the room. With a sharp tug, he opened it up all the way, causing a few flakes of snow and a cold breeze to whip in. Tres saw that the window was big enough for him to fit through and put one foot on the ledge.

"WAAAAAIIIT!!" shouted Abel, launching out of bed, still with the sucker in one hand, "Y-You're not thinking of jumping out of the window, are you??"

"Positive." stated Tres.

"Th-This is the third floor, Tres-kun!!" exclaimed Abel, moving his arms around in an agitated manner, "That's dangerous!!"

Tres didn't respond, he only tilted his head a little. Father Nightroad should know that he was sturdily built and that jumping from the 3rd floor window wouldn't cause him damage.

"Get back into bed so you can recover, Father Nightroad." said Tres, preparing to jump out of the window, "I shall return soon."

"B...But if you go...then I will be a burden to you..." whimpered Abel.

"Negative. You are not coming with me, therefore, you will not be a burden." said Tres. He blinked once and added, "Father Nightroad, you are delirious and need rest immediately."

"How rude! I know exactly what I'm saying." pouted Abel, putting his hands on his hips.

If Tres could sigh in exasperation, he would have in that moment. Instead, he chose to ignore Abel and proceeded to go out of the window.

"Tres-kun...! Don't leave me all alone! I don't wanna be by myself."

Tres stopped. Normally, the words would have no effect on him...but, the tone in the Kresnik's voice made another unidentifiable emotion spring forth. Just like the time the Father muttered "Tres-kun, I love you."

Slowly, Tres stepped down from the window and closed it with a click. Abel sighed and smiled.

"Thanks for staying, Tres-kun." he said, "I really don't—"

But when Abel tried to take a step forward, he wobbled and fell back onto the bed. Carefully, though, he has still managed to keep the sucker from falling. He sighed and pouted.

"My, I have horrible balance." said Abel, frowning slightly. Tres walked towards him and helped him sit up a bit. For extra support, Abel put the sucker in his mouth and used his hands to help him scoot back over to the pillows, with some help from Tres. And, like the last time, Tres pulled the covers over Father Nightroad. He didn't blush as much this time, but he still did.

Tres then took a chair from the corner of the room and pulled it up next to the bed and sat down. He dug around in his pockets and pulled out another sucker. Usually, he wouldn't care for the taste of it, but something about the flavor of strawberries made him curious. He unwrapped the sucker and popped into his mouth.

"Tres-kun? You like suckers?" asked Abel, surprised.

"Sweet." said Tres, as he continued to suck on the sucker.


	6. I Can Feel Them, Can't I?

**Sorry for the late update. This weekend was busy; went to a wedding on Saturday then my birthday was on Sunday. I'm 17 now! Yay! Anyways, this chapter was hard to write, too. I reread it 4 times to make sure it was alright. Yes, poor Abel is very sick. He just didn't act like it in the previous chapters. And I have no idea what to call the cape-thing on the AX uniforms, so I just call it the top half of the uniform and the shoulder things on Tres-kun's uniform, I called them mantles. Well, enjoy Ch. 6! Read on! Oh, and I forgot to add this in the first chapter. I DO NOT OWN TRINITY BLOOD. Okay, now read on.

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It was now midnight and Tres was still searching for medicine downstairs. He had left the Father's room about 2 hours ago, after he asked Tres to sing the "Lollipop Kids" song with him. He became more concerned about Abel's health, since the Kresnik didn't ask for anything to eat all day. The only food he consumed was the one sucker. And this wasn't like Father Nightroad at all. Tres even asked him to eat and he politely declined; saying he wasn't hungry.

"Father Nightroad is obviously not operational." stated Tres, walking out of the kitchen. No matter how hard he looked, there was still no medicine and the doors and windows of the hotel were still sealed shut. He could've went out of the 3rd floor window, but he was held back by Abel. Not physically, though, but with words.

"_Tres-kun...! Don't leave me all alone! I don't wanna be by myself."_

The same emotion that he felt when Abel muttered that he loved Tres, bubbled up again as he remembered those words. He stopped looking for medicine and looked out of the nearest window. Snow was on the ground, sparkling in the streets' lamp lights. Some snow was falling from the sky, but not enough to change the amount already on the ground. Any human looking at the scene would smile at it and say that it was beautiful like a Christmas card. But Tres didn't feel that way. It was just snow and light. Nothing more and nothing less. He wasn't human, after all.

"Emotions...I can feel them, can't I?" asked Tres, to himself. He hesitated before answering, "Negative. Insufficient data."

Tres walked back into the lobby and looked around. He had looked the whole place over for medicine to help Abel, but there was nothing to help his fever. Postponing the mission for the night, Tres headed back upstairs to wait for morning. As he went upstairs, he analyzed the air temperature around him to discover that it got more cold as he continued up the stairs. The emotions deal was still nagging at the back of his mind, but he was still confused about it and put the idea away for later.

He reached the third floor and stopped in front of Abel's room. Before retiring for the night, Tres wanted an update on his condition. He listened to see if he was asleep, then opened the door slowly.

As soon as Tres opened the door, he realized that the temperature in here was a lot colder than it was in the hallway. At least by 25 degrees. He didn't have to look far to see the source of the problem. The window which he had opened and closed earlier, had blown open sometime in the 2 hours that he had left. He walked over to the window and promptly closed it. But, as soon as he took his hands off of the window, it blew open again; snow drifting in with the cold wind. Tres closed it again and looked around for something to hold it still. Then, letting go of the windows for a minute, Tres made his way to the bathroom and got one of the towels. He walked back to the now open window and shut it again. This time, he looped the towel through the handles on the window and knotted it tight. The window didn't open again.

Tres calculated that the temperature in the room would be equal to the temperature outside in the hallway in about 8 hours. Sometime in the morning. Now, though, there was still a 25 degrees difference from the temperature in the hall and in Abel's room. This wasn't what he needed now, with the fever and all. Tres walked over to Abel's bedside to check on his fever. When he saw Abel, another weird emotion zapped through him like lightning.

Father Nightroad was curled up tight in a ball, lying on his side, shivering badly. Pale hands clutched at the covers around him, shaking severely. Thanks to the little light that was in the room, Tres could see that Abel's skin was soaked with feverish sweat. His long, silver hair stuck to his skin, uncomfortably. His breathing was also slightly quicker than normal, seeming as though he had run for some time.

Tres took off the glove on one of his hands and carefully pressed it up against Father Nightroad's forehead. As soon as he touched him, Abel flinched and gasped but didn't wake up. Tres hid his surprise, as he read the Kresnik's temperature. 105.6 degrees. The fever had gotten worse.

Tres removed his hand from Abel's forehead and continued to look at him. The shivering was probably a combination of the cold and severe chills. The increase in temperature could've happened anytime from when he last checked until now. If the fever got any worse, then the situation would be extremely bad.

He also noticed something. The bed only had 2 covers on it and neither were very thick. The top sheet even had some holes in it. Tres reached up and started to detach the top part of his uniform. Once it was off, he took off the mantles on the shoulders and leaned them up against the wall. Carefully, he took the piece of clothing and draped it over the feverish priest. He watched as Abel stopped shivering badly and just laid there, as if he was confused. Then, slowly, with one shaking, pale hand, he grabbed Tres's top half of the uniform and pulled it around him tighter.

Tres stood there beside Abel until he was certain that it was alright to leave. About an hour later, Father Nightroad's chills were near to none. Satisfied with the situation, Tres left Abel's room and closed the door, quietly. He went into his own room and closed the door behind him.

"I shall reevaluate Father Nightroad's condition in the morning." said Tres, lying down on the bed. Though it wasn't required that he sleep, he decided that going into Sleep Mode would be the best thing for tonight. He pulled the covers around him and laid his head on the pillow. Tres then closed his eyes and activated Sleep Mode.

After all, the emotions deal was still running through his head. He needed to "sleep" on it, in order for him to figure it out.


	7. Getting Worse

**And thus, Chapter 7. Its up now! So...no cockroaches, please. This one is my favorite, so far. Especially near the end. Hee hee...I hate it when I'm sick. So I made Abel feel as miserable as I do when I'm sick. I'm so evil. Heh heh. Anyways, I don't if I've said this before, but this will be my first shonen-ai/yaoi fanfic I've ever written. So, I'm new to this whole deal of writing out scenes. So please be nice. Well, here's Ch.7! Read on!

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_Straw...Strawberries...?_

Abel struggled back to consciousness at the odd smell around him. His head pounded for a bit, before the pain receded enough for him to open his eyes. He really didn't feel good, now. At first, it was just a little discomfort but now, it was hell. His head was pounding and his vision was blurred. His throat felt like it was on fire and his stomach was doing flips. He wanted to go back to sleep, but the strange smell of strawberries kept him up.

"What's smelling like strawberries...?" asked Abel. He blinked, as his voice was really hoarse. He sat up a little, but found that it was too much for him. His arms felt like lead and his body was like a dead weight. So, Abel set up the pillows and leaned up against them, sighing.

"Ahh, I wonder how I can hide this?" asked Abel, smiling weakly. For the few days that he had been sick, he had been faking that he was alright. But now...he felt absolutely terrible and it was difficult to hide, "I don't want Tres-kun to worry..."

Then, again, the smell of strawberries assaulted him again. Curious, he looked around, then noticed something. The covers on the bed were white, so he wondered why he didn't notice the black cape thing that was draped on top of him. Abel picked it up, confused, then realized that it was part of the AX uniform.

"But this isn't mine..." said Abel. He glanced over to the corner of the room where his own AX uniform lay in a crumpled pile. So, the only other person it could belong to was..."Tres-kun?"

The mental image of Tres draping the top part of the uniform over him made Abel smile. He had noticed that Tres was acting different than usual, since they got here. He was more...how to put it—kind. Like he was trying to act like a human.

"Well, that might explain his actions the other day..." said Abel, thoughtfully, as he remembered Tres grabbing his jaw gently and shoving the sucker in his mouth when he was panicking over nothing. Ever since he started working with Tres, he had always acted at though Tres was just another person. Another human. Maybe Tres was picking up on that.

"He's an odd one, I'll admit that." smiled Abel. He picked up Tres's uniform that was draped over him and buried his face in it. Taking in a deep breath, he then found out where the smell of strawberries was coming from. He didn't know why Tres smelled of strawberries, but it was comforting, "This makes him more adorable."

Abel took his face out of the uniform and held it close to his chest. He wouldn't doubt that he had feelings for the android; he had loved him for awhile now. But it was how he could voice it that was the problem. If Tres didn't understand human emotion, then how could he understand love...?

"Tres-kun...Tres-kun...I love you, but how can I say it?" asked Abel, quietly. He closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet smell of strawberries again.

"Father Nightroad."

Abel literally jumped at Tres's sudden greeting.

"T-Tres-kun!" yelped Abel, hoarsely, "Ah—"

Before Abel could say anything more, a coughing fit started. Each time he coughed, it felt like his throat was being ripped out. He could feel little tears of pain form in his eyes. The rough coughing seemed to go on forever...until someone started patting gently on his back. Abel's fever-ridden mind couldn't make out who it was, but whoever it was, it was making his coughing less violent. Finally, after a few more gentle coughs and a few more pats on the back, the coughing was done.

Abel sighed and leaned back against the pillows. The hand that was patting his back was still on his back, pinned up against the pillows.

"Status report, Father Nightroad."

Abel jumped again. He forgot that Tres was still in the room. And then he realized that it was him that was patting him on the back and whose hand he had pinned against the pillows.

"Tres-kun..." breathed Abel. Even talking hurt his throat immensely, "I feel horrible. My throat is on fire and my stomach is doing flips. My head feels like it got hit with a brick and I'm all hot and sweaty and icky."

Tres stared at him for awhile, then took his hand and pressed it up against the feverish Kresnik's forehead. As always, Abel shivered as soon as Tres's hand touched his skin. His temperature now: 106.1.

"Father Nightroad...your body temperature is dangerously high." said Tres. Abel blinked. He could've swore he heard a worried tone in Tres's usual monotone like voice. Was it true...or was it just his fever-ridden mind playing tricks on him?, "You need medical attention immediately."

"Tres-kun...I'm fine." sighed Abel. He really wasn't, but he didn't want Tres to worry, "I just need to rest some more."

"You have not eaten or drank anything for about 2 days, Father Nightroad." stated Tres, "Your bodily functions will fail if you do not nourish yourself."

"Two days, you say? My, that's a record then." chuckled Abel, "My stomach isn't feeling up to eating, sorry Tres-kun. However, some ice-cold water would be heavenly."

Tres nodded, took back his hand and headed for the door. When it closed, Abel sighed and tried to sit up again. This time, his body didn't want to respond, so he gave up and just laid there. With a shaking hand, he grabbed Tres's uniform and brought it close to him. The smell of strawberries enveloped him again, making him really sleepy.

"I think strawberries is my new favorite scent." said Abel, quietly. The sound of the door opening jarred him out of his strawberry reverie. Tres had returned and, like Abel had asked for, a glass of water in his hand. But something else was odd about him...

"Tres-kun? Why are you wet?" asked Abel, blinking confusedly.

"I managed to get you some ice water, before the faucet exploded." said Tres, walking towards Abel. Now that he was closer, Abel could see that Tres wasn't just wet—he was soaked, "It seems the cold weather caused the pipes to freeze and malfunction."

"How unfortunate..." said Abel. He tried to lift his arm to reach for the glass, but his arm barely got 6 inches off of the bed, before it plopped back down.

"Father Nightroad?" asked Tres.

"Ahh...it would seem as if my body's too weak to even lift a finger." sighed Abel. This was bad. He really was thirsty. Extremely so. He looked up at Tres, almost pleadingly.

Tres blinked at the emotion in Abel's eyes. Another weird emotion went through Tres again, making him blinking again as well. He tried to analyze it, but shook it off. Father Nightroad need nourishment immediately. He had told Tres that his stomach "was not up to eating" so solid food was out of the question. And if he was took weak to lift up his arms, then he surely couldn't hold a glass. So...how could he drink the water...?

Tres then remember a similar scene in a movie that he saw with Father Nightroad. One of the characters, a male, was feverish and weak. Exactly how Abel was now. The other character, a female, was caring for him. They were in the middle of the woods and the male had gotten injured in a battle. With the wound infected, it made him get a fever. There was no food around to nourish him and the female didn't know how to hunt. He asked for something to drink and she went to the nearby stream and got some water for him. But, he was too weak to lift up his arms and hold the canteen. The exact same predicament that the Kresnik in front of Tres was in now. Then, the female had an idea...

Tres took the glass of water up to his lips and started to drink it.

Abel watched, as Tres started to drink his water. He sighed and leaned back against the pillows.

"Tres-kun, please don't tempt me." he sighed, "I'm so thirsty..."

Tres didn't finish the drink, and set the glass on the bedside stand. He walked right next to the feverish priest and bent over him, so that their noses were almost touching.

"T-T-Tres-kun??" stuttered Abel. He could feel himself blush, as Tres stared deeper into his eyes. Then, slowly, Tres leaned forward...

And kissed Abel right on the lips.

Tres felt another emotion bubble up inside of him when their lips connected, but he couldn't concentrate on that right now. He need to feed Father Nightroad the water that was now currently in his mouth. Careful as to not let the water drip out of his mouth, Tres used his tongue to force Abel's mouth open a little. It took a bit of convincing, but eventually, he felt the Father's lips part and the water going into the other's mouth.

Abel almost choked on the water that suddenly entered his mouth, but got used to it quickly and swallowed the surprisingly still ice-cold water. The water cooled his throat down a lot and he was a bit surprised to taste strawberries in the water. With a jolt, he realized that his lips were still connected with Tres's.

After all of the water was gone from Tres's mouth and down Abel's throat, Tres pulled back; almost reluctantly. He didn't pull back much, as his nose was touching the now furiously blushing Abel's.

Abel's feverish mind was racing. _D-Did Tres-kun...k-k-k-kiss me? Or...was that just to feed the water to me? Ahhhh...if it was a kiss, it was certainly a good one. But...what would it be classified as? Just a normal kiss? Passionate? French???_

"Father Nightroad..."

Abel jumped as Tres interrupted his thoughts. Abel blinked as he saw a little pink tinge on Tres's cheeks. He was blushing...! _How cute!!_

"Father Nightroad, you...need some rest." said Tres, putting his forehead against the other's, "I shall leave the glass of water on the bedside stand. I will be back shortly."

"Ah...o-okay." stuttered Abel. Then, he smiled and sighed, "Thank you, Tres-kun."

Tres then stood up straight and stared at Abel again. With one hand, he brushed back a lock of the Kresnik's silver hair that was in his face. Abel smiled warmly and leaned up against Tres's hand. Tres froze for a moment, then gently caressed the other's cheek.

"Rest. Now." said Tres, softly.

"Yes. I will." breathed Abel, as he felt his eyelids getting heavy. He tried to say something to Tres, but the welcoming darkness got to him first.

_Tres-kun, I love you..._

Tres watched at Abel fell peacefully asleep. Carefully, he pulled the bed covers on top of Abel and put the top half of his own uniform on top of that. Tres watched him for a minute, before leaving the room.

"I need to find Abel something soft to eat." said Tres. He blinked. He just said the Father's first name. He stood there in confusion for a minute, before closing the door behind him and going downstairs to the kitchen.


	8. Chicken Noodle

**FINALLY!! Ch. 8 is up!! It took me awhile to do this one, as I had no idea of what to put in it. Anyways, bad news is that this story is reaching its end. But don't worry! The end will be good, I promise!! And I have no idea if Tres has ANY idea on how to cook, but...ah well. I got the Trinity Blood manga on Friday and it's hilarious!! The interaction between Tres and Abel is so funny!! It's good. Well, here's Ch. 8! Read on!

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While walking down the stairs, Tres shuffled through his pocket and pulled out another strawberry sucker and put it in his mouth. He didn't care much for the flavor, but it was curiously sweet. He walked into the lobby and looked around for the kitchen. After about 5 minutes, he found a extremely dark room with stoves, sinks, and a variety of kitchen utensils.

Before he stepped into the kitchen, another idea hit him. He was so dead-set on getting medicine for Abel, that he forgot that he had outside communications. He could've easily called Sister Kate for assistance and this whole deal would've been over. Tres searched for Kate's frequency and tried calling her.

"Sister Ka—"

Before he could finish, horrible static interrupted him and caused him to flinch a bit. He immediately shut the channel down and the static ended. Now, he couldn't even contact the Vatican on their current situation.

"Grreeaat." sighed Tres. He blinked, as he realized the tone that he had said that in. Sarcasm. He hesitated, then walked more into the kitchen.

Abel needed nutrients immediately if he was to make a good recovery. And just by looking at him, Tres knew that solid food wouldn't stay down for long. That narrowed down the search; food that wasn't solid that could stay down. Tres started his search.

About 20 minutes into the search, Tres finalized that they were not staying at this hotel again.

A.) The hotel was a molding mess.

B.) It got cold easily (meaning it would get hot easily as well).

C.) The kitchen violated several health inspection rules.

Most of the food that Tres found was solid, but even so, it was either rotten or moldy. Also, upon opening a bag of chips, the whole thing was filled with cockroaches. Another cupboard was filled with a family of rats. And most of the pots and pans looked like they haven't been washed throughly enough.

"Maybe I should not be searching for food for Abel in a place like this..." said Tres, opening one of the cupboards he hadn't searched yet. This one was empty, except for four cans. Four cans of soup to be exact. One was tomato soup, another was Cream of Mushroom, another can read Beef Vegetable soup, and the last one was Chicken Noodle soup.

Tres looked at the Chicken Noodle soup can and took it. It had not been opened or manipulated in any way, so Tres deemed it safe to eat. He then found a pot that was clean enough to cook in and set it on one of the stoves. He read the back of the can to see how he needed to prepare the Chicken Noodle soup.

"Stove: Empty contents into saucepan. Slowly stir in one can of water. Heat, stirring often. Do not boil. Serve." read Tres. He searched around for a can opener (a clean one), found one, opened the can and poured the contents into the pot. He blinked, as he realized he needed to turn on the stove. After analyzing the machine, he concluded that it was a gas stove. He found a box of matches close by and picked them up. He turned on the gas carefully and lit a match. He stuck the match under the burner and lit the fire...but not without some incident. He had his glove a bit too close to the fire and the fingers of his glove caught on fire.

Immediately, Tres ripped off the glove, dropped it on the floor and stomped out the fire. After the fire was out, Tres stuck his burned fingers in his mouth to soothe the pain. He had never realized it before, but getting burned hurt. After the pain subsided, he put the pot on the burner and went to get one can of water, with the empty can of Chicken Noodle soup. He turned on the faucet slowly, as to not repeat the incident of it exploding. Tres successfully got one can of water, went back to the stove, found a clean spoon and slowly stirred in the water with the contents of the can. Tres looked at the can again, but it didn't say how long it need to be on the stove. So, he kept on stirring.

Tres's mind wandered to a few minutes back, when he fed Abel the water that was in his own mouth. He still couldn't identify the emotion that he felt when he felt their lips touch, but just remembering the moment brought up another emotion. Again, one that he couldn't identify. But the sensation of his lips touching the Kresnik's...it was...how do humans say it...? Wonderful? Magical? Fiery?

Tres snapped back to reality when he smelled something burning. He realized with a jolt, that his coat sleeve was getting singed by the fire. He quickly jerked it away from the flame, before it caught on fire. He had never been lost in thought before, which made him feel a little confused. Tres looked down at the soup, stirring it a little. It looked done, but just because it _looked _done, didn't mean that it was done. He took the spoon out of the soup and put it up to his lips. He tasted it and the flavor was pretty good. The soup was hot and it burned a little but he ignored it. If it was hot and it didn't taste bad, then it was OK for Abel to consume.

Tres turned off the gas and looked around for a bowl to use. All the ones that he could see were either dirty or full of cockroaches. Finally, he found one that was semi-clean. He took it and went to the sink to rinse it out. He turned on the faucet and began to wash it, when it made a weird noise and then the whole faucet flew off as the sink started to spew out water. Frantically, Tres reached for the lever and shut it off. The water then slowly started to recede and soon it was all gone. But poor Tres was soaked. He wrung out his shirt and took the now clean, wet bowl out of the sink and walked back to the stove. He poured some of the soup in the bowl and stopped right before it got to the rim. Tres then took the bowl and pot and walked out of the kitchen.

The temperature outside of the kitchen had dropped drastically, since he had first walked in. It was obviously getting colder out...which wasn't good for the sick Father upstairs. Tres faintly wondered if there were any heaters in the hotel. When he reached the second floor, a huge, fat rat ran across his path, causing the android to start a bit. The contents of the bowl moved dangerously close to the edge and were in danger of spilling. Tres righted himself without incident, but some of the broth and some noodles had managed to get onto his sleeve. The burnt one to be exact. Carefully, as to not spill the contents again, Tres moved the sleeve up to his mouth and licked up the noodles with his tongue. He put his arm back down after all the noodles had been removed and were now currently in his mouth. He swallowed them and continued to head up the stairs.

Tres stopped in front of Abel's room and opened the door slowly; hoping that he was asleep.

Which he wasn't. He was sitting up in bed, staring out of the window at the waning sunlight. He was lost in thought, as he didn't even see Tres enter. Tres walked in slowly and closed the door behind him with a soft click.

"Oh!"

That small click was all it took to snap the Kresnik out of his reverie. He still looked sick, but not as sick as before. His eyes were a lot clearer and had some of their old sparkle back. Abel's voice, Tres noted, still wasn't up to par. It seemed like it pained him to talk.

"Father Nightroad, I have made some Chicken Noodle Soup for you." said Tres, walking over towards him, "I suggest that you eat it."

"Well, it would be wasteful to not eat it...so alright." said Abel, smiling. Tres found himself hit with another unknown emotion when Abel smiled.

Abel smiled more, as he saw a pink tinge come onto Tres's cheeks. _Aww, he's blushing again! How cute!! I should make him do that more often..._

Tres pulled up a chair and set the pot and bowl on the bedside stand. He rested his hand against the feverish Kresnik's forehead and took his temperature again. And, again, Abel shuddered a bit at the differences in temperature.

"104.6 degrees. Your fever is still very high." stated Tres, "You need nutrition and rest."

"I've been getting plenty of rest, its just the nutrition part that I'm having problems with." chuckled Abel, nervously. Tres couldn't help but smile at the Father's tone of voice. _Cute...is that what you call it?_

"Cute..."

"Eh? Did you say something Tres-kun?" asked Abel, blinking.

"N-No. Negative." said Tres, finding himself stumbling for words. Finding an excuse not to talk, Tres took the bowl of soup from the bedside stand and stirred the contents in it.

"So, you cooked that, Tres-kun?" asked Abel, looking at the bowl of soup in the Gunslinger's hands, "Mmm. It smells good...! I didn't know you could cook, Tres-kun! Either way, I bet it'll taste gr—"

Before Abel could get in another word, Tres had stuck a spoonful of soup into his mouth. Abel blinked for a minute, before swallowing the contents that were on the spoon. The hot (but not scalding) broth went down his throat and soothed it a lot. And the taste...!

"Delicious!" exclaimed Abel, as soon as Tres took the spoon out of his mouth, "Wow, Tres-kun!! This has got to be the best Chicken Noodle Soup I've ever tasted!!"

"It...was nothing." said Tres, feeling another blush rise to his cheeks, "I just followed the instructions."

"I don't believe that. I bet it was your own unique cooking touch that added to the flavor, Tres-kun." said Abel, smiling. Tres found himself smiling a little at the Kresnik's comment. Then, without warning, Tres leaned forward and kissed Abel lightly on the cheek.

"You are welcome, Abel." breathed Tres, into Abel's ear. Abel turned bright red and was about to say something, when Tres shoved another spoonful of soup into his mouth.

For the rest of the evening, Tres fed Abel the soup. The entire bowl **and **the rest of the pot, talking a little between each spoonful.


	9. Emotional Overload

**UPDATED!!! I'm soooo sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up! Stuff's been going on and I didn't have time to update. Again, I'm really, really, sorry. And...some more bad news. This is the second-to-last chapter. The next chapter will be the last. So, I hoped you've enjoyed Strawberry! Oh, and the one section that's completely in italics is in Tres's POV. Thought I should point that out. Well, I need to get started on the last chapter, sooo...Read on!

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The soup was an amazing remedy for Abel, as Tres figured out. A few minutes after the entire pot was gone, he noticed that the Father was talking more and starting to act like his old self. There were still the tell-tale signs of a fever and a sore throat, but it didn't seem to bother him none. Soon afterwards, though, the warm soup made the Kresnik sleepy and soon, he was out like a light.

"Abel must be feeling better now." said Tres, tucking him into bed, "Still, he needs proper medical attention."

After he was done, Tres headed out the door, glancing back at Abel one last time before closing the door. He went downstairs to the lobby again and stopped half-way down the stairs. Why did he keep coming down here every night, knowing that there wasn't any medicine around...?

"Odd..." he muttered, walking towards the door. Experimenting, Tres tried to open the door. He tugged on the handles hard...and nearly went flying backwards when they opened easily. Tres blinked and looked outside. The snow was melting some and was turning into water. The snow that was piled up wasn't as tightly packed as it was and easily gave way. The door was now open...he could get medicine for Father Nightroad now!

Tres took one step outside, then stopped. It was already late and the majority of the stores were closed. Even if the door was now open, it was too late to do anything about it. Sighing slightly, he went back inside and closed the doors.

"I shall go first thing in the morning to get medicine for Abel." said Tres, heading for the stairs, "Medicine for my Abel."

Tres froze. What did he just say...? _His _Abel?? Since when did he consider Abel his? Tres blinked and shook his head, trying to sort his thoughts.

"My Abel..." he muttered, "...Yes. Abel is mine. I claim him. I am the first to claim him, so he is mine. Why...? Because—I love him."

_Love..._

_Love..._

_Love..._

_Love?_

Suddenly, Tres felt a sharp pain go through him that drove him to his knees. Tres tried to locate the source of the pain, but he couldn't find it. That scared him.

Scared?

Since when did he feel fright?

He gasped as the pain got worse. Finally, he found out where it was coming from. His chest. His heart. Tres blinked.

Did he even have an actual heart?

He couldn't think anymore as the pain got worse. He gripped his chest, willing for the unknown pain to stop. Tres wasn't used to pain and this much of it threatened to overwhelm him. He was gasping now, he couldn't breathe.

_Since when do I start feeling pain from lack of air?_

That thought left his mind as soon as another wave of pain washed over him. This time, another source was added. Pain was in his head, throbbing constantly. The pain in his chest and the pain in his head. Why was he feeling this?

Tres felt weak and fell to the floor, curling up pathetically. His hands reached up and clutched his head. He was shaking—actually shaking from the pain. His body felt hot and his vision swirled. He gasped for air, trying to fill his burning lungs. Tres couldn't take it anymore. He screwed his eyes shut—

And screamed.

Blackness.

---

"_Cute...is that what you call it?" That was the feeling of affection when Abel spoke in a cute tone. Cute: endearingly pretty. Abel? Pretty? No, couldn't be. I see him more as...handsome. And at times—what's that word again?—sexy. That can't be right... Ah, well._

_And I kissed Abel right on the lips. Wow...that was the most amazing thing I've ever felt. What do you call it...? Passion: a very strong emotion. Just an emotion? There's nothing else with it? Then it had to have been something else... Affection: a feeling of fondness or liking. Yeah, that's it. I think. Maybe it can't be explained in words...Is this what love is about?_

_Seeing Abel that one night, all curled up and shaking...that was awful. What was the emotion that I felt? Sympathy: feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune. I think that sounds about right. When I saw him like that, I was willing to do anything to get him back to his normal self. I don't like seeing Father Abel in such as weak state. I will get him past this sickness, even if it kills me! ...But wait. Can I even die from overworking? Hmmm..._

"_I don't wanna stay by myself." That's what Abel said when I was just about to jump out the 3rd floor window. He succeeded in keeping me there, but why? What emotion made me stay there? Worry: feel or cause to feel troubled over actual or potential difficulties. That sounds about right. I was...worried...about Abel, so I stayed behind with him. I knew I couldn't leave him alone in that hotel. He needed someone to watch him while in that vulnerable state._

"_Tres-kun, I love you." I do too, Abel. I love you, too. Love: an intense feeling of deep affection. I don't like that definition. Why do I keep looking up the meanings to these emotions? Especially love? All love is, is the feeling of staying by someone, because it's essential. It is essential to have Abel near me. I need him near me. Why? Because I love him. I love you, Abel._

_I love you..._

_I love you..._

_I love you..._

---

"I love you..."

Tres slowly opened his eyes and blinked. He was still on the ground, curled up in a ball. He sat up slowly, wondering how long he was on the ground. And...was he just unconscious? Could that even happen to him? And what was that whole deal before he blacked out? The pain was almost unbearable...!

"Emotional breakdown?" he asked himself, "No...it couldn't be. It was probably more along the lines of an emotional overload."

Tres stood up, then felt something wet on his cheek. He wiped it away, then realized that tears were in his eyes. Was he crying? _Can I even cry? _He stood there for a moment, then walked up the stairs. He needed to see Abel now. Tres knew it was late and that the Father was still sleeping, but he needed to tell him. It was essential to tell Abel that he loved him.

What he experienced when he was out cold was probably a way to sort out his emotions and set them right. He had gone through all of the emotions that he had felt since they arrived at the hotel, the event where Abel confessed his love to Tres being the last event to show. Tres knew how to love him back and to show him that he was capable of loving.

Tres reached the top floor and went to Abel's room. He carefully opened the door and peeked in. It was still fairly dark out, so there wasn't much light. From what Tres could see from the moonlight, the Kresnik was fast asleep, curled up like a child. Tres smiled warmly at the scene. He walked in and closed the door behind him. He walked over to Abel's bedside and took his temperature again. It was 104.7. Much lower than the last time he had taken it, but it was still very high. Tres stood above Abel, trying to figure out what to do next. He didn't want to leave the Father's side. His fever was still high and needed to be lowered in some way.

That's when an idea hit Tres like a truck.

In the same movie that he saw with Father Nightroad, about the feverish warrior and the female companion, the warrior's fever got extremely high. The female, wondering what to do, decided to "absorb" his fever. She then stripped off all of her clothes and the warrior's as well. She then laid really close to him and, by morning, the warrior's fever was nearly gone.

"Absorb the fever..." said Tres to himself. He then nodded, finalizing the idea. Slowly, he started stripping off his clothing, dumping them on the floor next to the bed. Soon, he was completely naked. Tres shivered slightly, as the cool air of the room brushed against his bare skin. He was successfully stripped of all his clothes, now it was Abel's turn. Carefully, as to not wake him up, Tres slowly started to undress Abel. He slowly unbuttoned the nightgown and slipped it off of Abel's hot (temperature-wise) body. Once he threw that on the floor, Tres turned back and stared at the Kresnik.

_Rubber ducky boxers...?_

The android stared at the ridiculous boxers and stifled his laughter. Once he had control of his laughter, Tres carefully pulled those off as well. Then, slowly, he got into the bed and scooted close to the Father's now naked body. Tres shuddered at the difference between his body temperature and Abel's. Carefully, as to not wake him up, Tres carefully laid half of his body on top of Abel's, slightly entwining his legs with his. Abel stirred slightly, causing Tres to freeze. But all the Kresnik did was curl up slightly and put his arms around Tres. Tres blushed a bit at the action, but smiled. He then laid his head down on the pillow, close to Abel's head.

"I love you, Abel." he whispered, as he kissed Father Nightroad's cheek. He then closed his eyes and fell asleep, for once, like a normal human.


	10. Sweet Endings

**Finally, the Final Chapter is up!! Sorry it took me so long to add it. Well...I don't have really much else to say. But I might say something at the end, so read on and see for yourself!!**

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Abel stirred just as the sun's morning rays were filtering in through the window. He opened his eyes and looked out the window, faintly seeing the snow-topped buildings. _At least the sun's out... _thought Abel, yawning. To his surprise, he felt a lot better today. He didn't feel feverish and he was full of energy. His throat still hurt a bit, but that could easily be ignored. Abel tried to take his own temperature, but he felt alright.

"I should get Tres-kun to take my temperature again." muttered Abel, getting out of bed. Well..._tried _to get out of bed. To the Kresnik's surprise, he was being pinned down. He looked down but didn't see anything. He turned his head...only to meet with a face-full of chocolate-colored fur. Blinking furiously, Abel tried to get his half-asleep mind to work. _Wha–?! Fur? Since when did a dog get in my bed? And it's a big one, too! It's pinning me down. Maybe I should wake it up...I'm just hoping it doesn't bite me...! _With his free arm, Abel carefully lifted the covers to wake up the dog...only it wasn't a dog at all.

Sleeping peacefully next to him was Tres, half on him and half on the bed. His forehead was resting against Abel's shoulder, thus explaining the chocolate _fur _in the Kresnik's face. Abel realized that Tres didn't have a shirt on, blushing slightly at the android's muscular frame. Abel lifted up the covers to see why Tres didn't have a shirt on...only to pull the covers back down with a tiny squeak; his face furiously red.

_Wh-why...are both me and Tres-kun...n-n-n-naked...?_

Abel tried to run through all the scenarios in his head of why both of them would be lying in bed, naked. Unfortunately, all the situations ended up with him blushing furiously. He glanced back over at Tres...to see the android's chocolate-colored eyes staring back at him.

"WAHH!!" yelped Abel, only scooting a few inches away from Tres, since he was still being pinned down, "T-T-Tres-kun!!"

"Status Report, Father Nightroad." stated Tres.

"Ahh...w-well, I do feel better." stuttered the Father, still blushing. Tres sat up a little and leaned forward, placing his lips on Abel's forehead, making the Kresnik blush more.

"98.7 degrees." said Tres, pulling back. A small smile makes its way onto his emotionless features, "It has dropped to a save level, Abel."

"Yes, I suppose—huh?" Abel blinked. A smile and a normal tone of voice..."Tres-kun?"

Tres sat up more so that he was completely on top of Abel, both of the android's arms on either side of him, "I have come to a conclusion, Abel."

"You have now?" asked Abel, noting that Tres was being serious...but a different kind of serious than what he was used to.

"Love. It's a complicated emotion that took even me awhile to figure out. When you said that you loved me, it confused me for the first time. I'm not used to dealing with emotions, only being a killer android. A machine. However, I am half human. There is a small part of me that understands emotions. It took me all this time, but now I understand them. Pain, sadness, happiness...love. I understand them now, for once. Now, I can return the favor."

Tres leaned down and went close to Abel's ear, "I love you, Abel."

Abel was speechless. He felt a small blush rise in his cheeks at the words Tres uttered. And from the seriousness in his tone, he wasn't joking around. I love you...Tres loved him. He loved Tres.

Without warning, Abel pulled Tres down on top of him. Tres looked at him, surprised, but didn't get the chance to say anything, as the Kresnik's lips covered his own. After a moment, Abel pulled back and smiled.

"I love you too, Tres." he said, planting another kiss on the android's nose, making him blush. Abel chuckled at his cuteness. Tres sat up again, so that he was hovering over Abel.

"I'm a bit new to this, so...can you teach me?" Tres asked, tilting his head.

"Let's see what you know first, then I'll see what else I can teach you." said Abel, a grin making it's way across his face. A sly grin made it's way onto Tres's features as he leaned closer and claimed Abel's mouth as his own.

The initial thought was to let Tres do his thing...but with the intensity and passion the android was putting into the kiss, Abel found it hard to resist. Soon, Tres forced his tongue into Abel's mouth and that's where he lost it. Abel's own tongue curled around Tres's, playfully teasing it. Tres chuckled and pinned it down, tasting all of it. Abel was also able to taste Tres during this.

And it did not surprise him that Tres tasted of strawberries.

--

Back at the Vatican, things were in a bit of madness. The sudden blizzard had knocked out communications for a couple of days and no one was able to contact anybody anywhere. The people in the AX were mainly concerned about the mission that Abel and Tres were on. The place where they were sent had experienced the worst of the storm.

Professor William Walter Wordsworth, Leon Gracia, Esther Blanchette, Hugue de Watteau, and Kate Scott were all in Cardinal Caterina Sforza's office. The only one that was on edge and slightly annoyed by all of this was Sister Kate. The professor had tried to make an attempt to fix the system, but nearly caught the Vatican on fire once _and _screwed up the signals even more. Now, he was certain that he had it right, this time.

"You had better be telling the truth, William." stated Kate, glaring at him.

"I am, I am!" said William, smiling, "This time I do have it right!"

"Last time you said that, we had to get half the Vatican to try and put out the blaze you created." muttered Leon, crossing his arms.

"That's because there was too much wiring involved and it shorted out." said William, "This time, I have it right and with just the right amount of wires!"

"You had better be right, this time." said Kate, giving him an annoyed glance, "We haven't heard from Father Nightroad and Father Tres in a long time."

"With the sudden blizzard that came in, knocking out communications, it's got me worried about those two." said Esther, softly.

"The most that blizzard could do would be to trap them inside a building for a few days." said Hugue.

"Is the system ready yet, Professor?" asked Caterina.

"Should be up and ready to go...Now!" he said, smiling, "I have it so that everyone could hear. That way, at least one of us can hear something and not just you, Sister Kate."

"What, you don't trust my hearing, Professor?" she asked, now giving him a death glare. She was at the end of her rope and William wasn't helping.

"Enough you two." sighed Caterina, "We have to listen for any type of communication."

Everyone was silent, listening in. So far...

Nothing.

"I think we have the wrong frequency." said Leon, after awhile.

"Nonsense! Everything was how it was before the blizzard!" exclaimed William, "Maybe they're asleep or—"

"Shhh! Quiet, William! I thought I heard something!" snapped Kate, under her breath. Everyone got quiet again, listening intently. Soon, they could hear noises. From the sound of it, it sounded like bed sheets. It was morning, so it was reasonable for one of them (mainly Abel) to still be in bed. The group listened harder, trying to hear voices. And they did, but they were soft and dim.

"I'm turning it up." said Kate, softly. Soon, they could clearly hear the voices...but they weren't words.

It was moaning.

And not like complaining moaning...but pleasurable moaning.

Everyone froze and kept on listening.

The moaning and shuffling of the sheets went on for awhile, before it came to a stop, with two people panting slightly.

"**Did you know that I like strawberries?" **It was Abel's voice, with his tone soft and sweet, like he was talking to a girlfriend...but in this case, it seemed more like a boyfriend.

"**Nega—no. I didn't." **Now it was Tres speaking.

This time, truly everyone froze as stiff as a rock.

"**And did you know that you taste like strawberries?"**

"**I did not know that, either."**

"**Well, you do. And I want to taste it again. I want to taste more of you, Tres."**

"**You can taste me as much as you like, my Abel..."**

Kate was the first one to snap out of her trance.

"WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU TWO DOING?!"

Abel squeaked and Tres gasped softly at Kate's outburst. Both were silent for a long time.

"**Sister Kate." **said Tres, trying to get his normal tone back, but it was obvious that he was faking.

"Don't "Sister Kate' me!!" she snapped, "What are you two doing?! Ah, never mind that. What happened during the blizzard?! Our communications was knocked out and we haven't received any kind of word from you!!"

"**W-Well...you see..." **stuttered Abel, sounded a bit embarrassed and flustered, **"I got sick, thanks to the blizzard and then we were trapped inside this old hotel. Now, it abandoned, except for me and Tres. However now I'm better! Tres has absorbed my fever."**

"Absorbed your..." started Kate, "Wait, that means—No! No, I will not think about that!"

"**Sister Kate." **said Tres, getting her attention, as his voice was not monotone, as it usually was, **"Thanks to his trip, I have now an almost full understanding of emotions. Not only that, but I have grown attached to Abel. So, I will declare this: Abel is MINE."**

Sister Kate paled at Tres's last sentence. The last word was emphasized loudly and in the background, Abel was giggling softly, "W-Well!! When you two are done "bonding" get back here at once! The mission you were sent on is canceled for the moment. When you are ready, call back for a transportation. You got that?"

Silence.

"Are you there? Father Nightroad? Father Tres?"

Nothing.

It turns out that while Kate was talking, both Tres and Abel turned off their communicators.

Kate fumed silently and disappeared, wanted to shoot the both of them with the Iron Maiden's cannons.

Leon busted out laughing, nearly falling down, "I knew that four-eyed dork was queer, but I didn't think in _this _way!!"

Hugue was a little pale, but couldn't help but smile a bit at the whole situation.

The Professor was staring out of the window, trying desperately to get the mental image of Tres and Abel in bed out of his mind. For good.

Esther was blushing madly, not knowing what to say. She turned to Caterina...then blinked, "Caterina-sama?"

Caterina was doubled-over and shaking, a hand over her mouth to keep her from busting out laughing. _I knew those two were close...now their closer than ever. Although now, it's more literal._

"_**So, I'm yours, am I?"**_

"_**Yes you are, Abel."**_

"_**And who made you in charge?"**_

"_**I did."**_

"_**Oh-ho! I'll have to challenge that..."**_

"_**How so, my dear Abel?"**_

"_**This is where my teaching comes in, my dear Tres..."**_

_**CLICK**_

_**CLICK**_

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**Owari!!**

**I really hoped you liked Strawberry! But I realized something while I was writing this chapter. I forgot to add a really good part in!! Sooo, in the near future, be prepared for a bonus chapter!! I guarrantee that the bonus chapter will make all of the fangirls of AbelxTres squeal!! For now...Ja ne!**


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